Skype

Interests

Location

I went to a get-together with a large group at Homestead last night (my first time eating in Petworth). We were on the top floor of 3, where there was a bar and some tables, and they handled us well (large group of various people showing up anywhere between 6 and 9 p.m.). I like the space and the host was friendly and welcoming.
I only had a small taste of the menu, but it was excellent. The things I ordered aren't on the online menu at http://homesteaddc.com/starters/ because their menu changes daily, although a number of items on the online menu were on the menu last night (quail, raclette, catfish, buttermilk hot chicken, half roasted chicken, Homestead burger).
A salad of berries (blueberries and strawberries), goat cheese, hazelnuts and greens was great - very fresh, interesting greens that weren't the typical "mixed greens," though I can't tell you what they were. Good goat cheese and fresh, tasty berries. Large serving, too.
Grilled squid was tiny tiny whole squid (baby squid, but much smaller than baby squid I've had before, about the size of a thumbnail), with drizzles of a delicious yellow sauce that tasted of Spain (I don't recall what was in it, maybe saffron?), and bits of diced fruit (pineapple? don't recall), on top of salad greens. Not what I expected, but very good.
There was a saffron soup on the menu and I was very curious but didn't end up getting it. My husband got the half roasted chicken with vegetables and he was happy with it; someone else got the burger, and I snagged a few fries, which were good. Someone else was very happy with her tuna tartare over avocado, which looked appealing.
There were many interesting cocktails on the menu (drinks menu isn't online). No mocktails, but I got a nonalcoholic version of a drink that had blackberries (or maybe blueberries, can't recall), cardamom syrup, and lemon. Very nice. Followed it with a ginger beer.
There's outdoor seating on the second level (maybe 8 tables) and lots of space throughout the building. I'd definitely go back.

My husband and I wanted to grab an early dinner around 6:15 pm Saturday to make up for the anniversary dinner we had to cancel earlier in the week (it's a long story that involves a concussion - and said concussion is making husband very sleepy, hence the early dinner).
We figured it should be no issue showing up at Himitsu at 6:15 to grab two seats either at the bar or a table. I figured that most people wouldn't be eating or even out yet on a Saturday at 6. Wow. I was wrong. The wait was over 2 hours long when we arrived so we decided to head elsewhere and got in the car to try our luck at Izakaya Seki. However, as soon as I turned down 8th st from Upshur we saw a new restaurant, that had a few tables, and figured, why not?
The internet suggested that it was a new Asian street food restaurant (an old Prince of Petworth article), but when we looked at the menu in the window it was clear it was a Pan-Latin place. Since my husband and I both work in Latin America and travel there often we figured, again, why not? I asked the very nice hostess how long they had been open -- she said three weeks.
We were seated immediately - the room is cool - lots of Edison bulbs, wood, exposed brick, plants hanging on the wall, central large bar. We both really liked the space. Service, throughout the night, was fine. A little distracted (menus sat on the table most of the meal until I asked for them to be taken away, long waits for water) and just a little inexperienced. But, hey, it was week 3, and the server was perfectly nice and did his job. Polish will come.
The menu is broken down into four categories and includes a variety of drinks and dishes from Peru, Chile, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay. One category is appetizers, which had empanadas, fish tacos, quiejo coehlo (A delicous slab of cheese with oregano that you eat on the beach in Brazil) and some other items. There was also a ceviche section with 4 or 5 choices, a section of sandwiches (a chicken milanesa, a choripan - which is a grilled sausage sandwich, and a Cubano), and a main course section with chiles rellenos, a carne asada hanger steak with yucca fries and chimichurri, a fish special of the day (a seafood stew on Saturday), an Aji Huancaina (Peruvian yellow chile sauced chicken) and a couple other dishes.
We had the queijo and fish tacos as appetizers and both were very good - as good as or better than the versions we usually eat in Latin America. I had the carne asada for my main and it was fine. I liked it, but could make it at home with the pre-marinated carne asada from Trader Joe's. My husband had the seafood stew which had octopus, clams, fish, and mussels in a really nice broth. It was great. We didn't do dessert.
The wine list is heavy on Chilean and Argentine Malbecs and Pinot Noirs, but I had a very nice glass of a Bolivian!! Tannat that is a rarity. I would have liked to have seen more Uruguayan wines on the menu, as I think they are great and under-represented. The cocktail list is also nice - my mole Old Fashioned was really great on a cold night.
I think this is a nice new addition to the scene!

Just wanted to bump this thread and let people know that Himitsu had its official opening last night.
I was lucky enough to attend a preview dinner on Wednesday; raw fish preps and the entire beverage program are absolutely going to be highlights. Not really fair to "review" or critique, as they weren't even really open yet, but multiple plates are priced substantially lower than they should be. Happy to post photos of the menus and / or food if helpful.
A super talented young duo, and one that should do quite well in the space.
Cheers!

I can't find a thread for Timber Pizza Co., so I'm starting a thread for the first time!
The bf, two friends, and I tried Timber (in Petworth, on Upshur St.) about a month ago, shortly after it opened. For a place that had just made the brick-and-mortar leap from a truck-hauled oven, Timber was impressively strong out of the gate. It was crowded on that Sunday night, and we were wary when we saw that you order at the counter and then hope to find space at the communal picnic tables. (Unless you manage to grab seats at the small bar in the back, where you can apparently order from the bartender.) Luckily, our hovering paid off and we snagged a table before our pizzas arrived. (If we lived in the neighborhood, we'd be doing regular take-out.)
Everyone was super friendly, and the woman at the counter was helpful in recommending how much to order. We went with empanadas, three pizzas, a sharing-sized salad, and two large-format cocktails. It turned out to be a pretty ideal amount of food; we ended up with a few leftover slices to take home. (Which definitely didn't make me sad.) I really enjoyed the corn, sweet red peppers, spring onions empanadas, because how can you go wrong with that vegi combination in a crisp pizza dough shell (especially with the spicy pineapple chups, which I used for my pizza crust as well). The friends like the pork ones too. The JMD salad (sugar snap peas, spearmint, salad greens, radishes, lemon-honey vinaigrette) was lovely, a bright, crisp contrast to all the dough we were consuming. With our friends deferring to our pescatarianism, we settled on the Asher (tomato sauce, smoked mozzarella, fresh mozzarella, roasted corn, hot peppers, smoked paprika, micro-cilantro), the Munday (olive oil, provolone, mozzarella, squash blossoms, sugar snap peas, honey ricotta, garlic chips, spicy honey), and the Ty Brady (crab, corn, potatoes, Old Bay). The crust had nice char and chewiness, and I loved the creative topping combinations. All were delicious, and we disagreed on how to rank our favorites, which is always a good sign. (I was particularly pleasantly surprised by how much I liked the spicy honey on the Munday.)
We didn't linger so that others could have our seats, but luckily the Twisted Horn is just a few doors down and has excellent cocktails (if too many mosquitos on their outdoor patio that night!). But we'll be back.

So, I went for lunch. It was ok. And very strange.
2 of us for a late lunch on Tuesday, 2 weeks ago. There was no line, but they were clearly understaffed, as there were several tables available, but we had to wait, as did the few tables that came in after us. Then it took us a while to get water. Refills were also difficult, and it was a VERY hot day. The service was pleasant enough, but slow and a bit oddly pushy. At one point I asked about the milkshakes, but decided not to order one until dessert. This resulted in "You want to order that dessert now? How about now? How about now?" Dude, I’m barely a third of the way through my lunch!
As I said, we had a late lunch. As we were leaving, they were putting up a sign that said they were closed until 5 (or maybe 5:30?).
Food was REALLY slow to come out.
Food was quite tasty, and fairly priced. I had a patty melt, and my friend had a club sandwich. Both worth eating, and very good fries.

Wanted to announce that we just opened Crane & Turtle on Upshur Street in Petworth.
CRANE & TURTLE is a chef-driven, neighborhood restaurant that celebrates the marriage of Chef Makoto Hammamura's great passions"”Japanese and French cooking. Chef worked with Eric Ziebold for 6 years at CityZen and we are excited to be able to showcase his talents.
We are open Tuesday - Sundays starting at 5pm.
See you all in Petworth!
Paul Ruppert
Owner, Crane & Turtle
www.craneandturtledc.com

Though I know Qualia has been referenced on some other coffee topics, I don't think it has it's own thread. Not in the Dining Guide. Didn't come up with a google search. So I'll create it here because this shop, now three years old, totally deserves to have a little spotlight shone on it. WaPo got it right with their brief review last year. And, even a visit to the content-rich Qualia website makes clear this is a shop obsessed with bean quality and the technique/process that convert bean to great-tasting cup. Today I was in the area of Georgia Avenue and remembered Qualia Coffee was nearby. I'd only been there once before a year or two ago and vaguely remembered enjoying it but I'd had a lot of good/great coffee since then...and had learned a bit more, so I wanted to check back. This time, I talked at length with Joel Finkelstein, Qualia's owner and chief roaster, along with Aaron, also a roaster and a serious and generous teacher of all things coffee to anyone interested enough to ask. Qualia is a Great Shop by my scale as explained here. They offer a large selection of very fresh, frequently changing and clearly dated beans. They roast onsite using a smaller roaster and average 5lb batches. This means they'll run out of a given roast often but then can restock in 2 hours. With a dozen or so from which to choose for a pourover, this means you'll always get freshly roasted beans, whatever the region or varietal. Joel and Aaron both care about roasting intensely. Their knowledge is incredibly deep and their dedication to excellence exceedingly high. I think they do espresso drinks but that's decidedly not the main focus here. It's very much about the world's best beans roasted with a crazy high level of finesse. Oh, and coffee aside, Qualia does seriously good baked goods including bagels from the area's best bagel maker* I had a very interesting Panamanian coffee I really enjoyed followed by a Brazilian Minco I loved. And, I left the shop with a deep appreciation for Joel, what he's doing and how he's doing it. He's thinking about possibly opening a 2nd Qualia downtown somewhere and I hope he does since the only downside to Qualia that I can see is that it's not that conveniently situation for me to be a regular. For all of us that deeply appreciate purveyors who prioritize quality over revenue maximization, Qualia deserves our enthusiastic support. It'd be great to see a few restaurants in town serving Qualia. Qualia won't ever be a multi-million, high-growth business. But it is already a great business because it is first and foremost about Great Product. * Georgetown Bagelry on River Road

A tiny storefront on Georgia Avenue, Fish in the Hood would verge on being one of my favorite new restaurants this year if not for its mysterious hours and a bit of brusque service. The first time I walked over there, at about 12:30 on a Thursday, the place was locked, though the lights were on inside. It was a crapshoot, since I haven't been able to find their hours listed anywhere, either on their "website" or Yelp. Some workers who'd been contracted to fix their sign were out front, and also chagrined since they couldn't get in touch with the manager or any staff. After chatting with them for about 10 minutes, I moved on (and ended up with an excellent roti from Rita's down the street). I got lucky the second time, stopping in at about 6:30 on a Friday night, and it was hopping. The interior is dominated by a glass case featuring 10-12 types of raw filleted and whole fish on ice and a high counter behind which the magic happens. There are two or three tables inside, but they're really there more for waiting than for eating. (In any case, I don't recommend lingering inside unless you relish smelling like a fryolater. The patio outside will be a nice place to eat in good weather.) The lady behind the glass case was impatient to take my order and irritated that I didn't know the ordering protocol and had to keep asking her to repeat herself because I couldn't hear her over the din. I ended up ordering six fried shrimp and one fried fillet of pollack--which she rejected out of hand as not enough so she gave me three. I also ordered the greens, mac and cheese, and potato salad (I needed to sample a quorum!). A little less than ten minutes later, a man with a big smile (proprietor, I think?) called me over to pick up the goods. He says, "Have you ever had my mango sauce before?" No, sir, I haven't. "Well dear, you take that home and have your man open it up, dip that fish in it, and feed it to you. That'll give you the makings of a good night right there." With no man at hand for the experiment, I fed it to myself, and holy mackerel (ha), was I in heaven. The crust--cornmeal batter--was still crackling after a 10-minute walk home, the fish and shrimp were well cooked, and that mango sauce is a dream. A dream. So good that I'm not even embarrassed to admit that a fair amount made its way into my mouth via my finger. Seriously: order extra mango sauce (a fancy place would call it a mango aioli or some such). The tartar sauce is also really, really good, and its served with a couple of pieces of bread that are average but which somehow makes for a pretty good sandwich. The potato salad was pretty good, the mac and cheese was okay, and the greens were pretty eh. Prices are good, and you can also get the fish broiled or take it out raw. Now just post your hours somewhere, folks, and I'll become a regular.

I've lived around the corner from Highlands Cafe for about a year and started going to brunch every now and again. The brunch menu isn't terribly creative, but it's solid and very reasonably priced.
I happened to stop for coffee this morning (gotta support the local establishments, you know?) and managed to chat with the proprietor/chef. So the scuttlebutt is:
- their liquor license just got approved (I can't wait to add mimosas to those omlettes).
- the bus barn across the street has been sold to developers and is planned to be condos/retail.
This is welcome news, since it's a cute little block (14th between Critten & Decatur) and I've been hoping for a while that some more neighborhood-y joints would spring up.

I pass a food cart on M Street on my drive in, and have wondered about it but always forget to look into it. It looks a normal hot dog cart with a sign on the side that says "Jerk Chicken Wraps" and "FoodChain DC." Interesting concept, and I'm surprised I haven't seen anything written about it on here yet. http://www.foodchaindc.com/

According to the Prince of Petworth, a new Indian Restaurant has just opened in Petworth. I am somewhat skeptical about anything with the word "fusion" in it, but it appears to have a great pedigree - click.

If you spend any time just watching the door of Sweet Mango, there's a constant stream of humanity continually passing through: school kids, EMT workers, policemen, construction workers, loiterers, parents- pretty much the entire neighborhood of Petworth, it seems. Most of them are getting takeout, though there is a nice roof area upstairs. The smoker starts up early in the morning, blowing the sweet smell of jerk chicken over the streets at a constant rate. The jerk doesn't have a searing heat, but it does have a really nice complex flavour. They don't only have jerk chicken, of course; there is brown stew, and curry chicken, and oxtail and goat sometimes. The beef and chicken patties aren't made on site, but they're darn tasty. The meals come with a huge portion of rice and beans, with cabbage and veggies on one side. It's incredibly filling food, and amazingly affordable. Oh, and for people looking for an interesting variety of root drinks, they have those- some home-made, some not, and other things like sea moss. Nick and I went and stuffed ourselves silly last night.

Y'all: we need your help. It's possible that the best pizza place in DC is going to die for lack of business. Maybe. Maybe it's the best pizza; maybe they were just unusually slow (read: empty) on a Fathers Day afternoon. Anyhow, Moroni and Brothers serves up a truly excellent pie in the middle of a nondescript block in a nondescript bit of Petworth. I assumed that the burgeoning Petworth yuppie contingent would be flooding the spot but, except for a couple of Salvadoran dudes watching the inevitable football match on the TV over the bar, it was empty. We enjoyed a lovely waitress, excellent tamales and several truly memorable pizzas. Perhaps because they screwed it up the first time, the boy's pizza was almost overloaded with pepperoni, the small tasty kind. Mrs. B's pizza was exceptional, with a good crunchy crust and what tasted like actual mozzarela on top. This place is seriously in the running for "best of." My last pizza at 2 Amy's was the best I've had there in years, but it's possible that M&B surpassed it -- and there's no line to get in or squalling children at the next table. Folks need to check this place out before Jose Velasquez and his wife, Reyna Isabella Acosta (veterans of Pizzaria Paradiso) are forced to fall back on pupusas to pay the rent.

Anyone been to Morgan's Seafood in Petworth - or is it Columbia Heights? - (3200 Georgia Ave. at Kenyon) since it reopened this summer? Family owned, home-cooked soul food and steamed crabs. It is open until midnight, Mon- Thurs., and 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. No website but they are "working on it." Apparently they had closed many years ago because cars were crashing through though the storefront at the busy intersection. The insurance company dropped coverage and when there was another crash during a police chase, with no insurance coverage, the restaurant closed. [so...if you go? watch your back!]

After the debacle that was the family visit to the waterfront Philips "Flagship", I was left to wonder if this was the "flagship" what were the rest? Shit Barges? Anywho...I need to redeem myself with the 'rents. I had heard from friends that the Hitching Post was good, I decided to give it a try. Comfort food for a low key Friday with my Southern parents...seems like a match. Let me say that the place lacks for decor but has that family owned, neighbor frequented, been around for a long time feel, I like it, it's quaint. It also isn't fast, but then rarely is good food on your table quickly. It took about an hour for our four top to get three "1/2" orders of fried chicken and an order of fried Porgy. The portions were huge and cooked to order by one guy who seemed more than happy to be cooking right in front of us. The chicken was hot, crisp and had a shell that when peirced oozed juice and steam. Perfectly fried, could have used a bit more salt but that was easily fixed. Dad had the Porgy which was not one fish but two huge fish split and fried, read: four....HUGE....fillets. The fish was moist, delish and easy to de bone. All had the greens of the day which were collards, cooked sans meat but good non the less. Two had the mac and cheese which was also tasty. Dad had potato salad and Mom also had the broccoli. The broccoli was wonderful. Steamed perfectly and season with just salt and a lil bit of butter it was also the size of my head. Needless to say we all had some broccoli. The pot salad was also tasty if a little meally. All told for 4 sweet teas, three chicken dinners and a porgy we paid.......wait for it......$67.00!!!!! By the way....I don't know what chicken has four legs but my "half" had one breast, one thigh, one wing and two legs...nice, mutant chickens are out and about and noone else told me......I can't rave anymore about what a great value this was and how good the food was.....Go and get it.....enjoy it and tell your friends about it.......There are other things like fried shrimp, gumbo, beans and pork neck, sea trout and various sandwiches but I think the ckicken is the thing.....gotta go and eat a piece now......

Had my second dinner in a row here tonight, I can't believe that there is a restaurant this good on my way home from the metro.
The menu here is very simple, the have a number of meats that can be had as tacos, burritos, tortas, or tostadas. The meat here is the real attraction, they have chicken, chorizo, beef or goat barbocoa, carnitas, tongue, tripe, & carne asada. They also have a great al pastor that is not on the menu but was offered to me by the server both times.
All of the meats Ive had have been incredible, tender & very well spiced. The tacos are small enough that Ive had both barbocoas, the carnitas, the chorizo, and the al pastor. I think three would make a good sized meal, although my friend -who is a real eating machine- put away six tonight. The al pastor & the beef barbocoa are especially good, very flavorfull & not at all dry. I don't quite know how to put it, the meat here has that something that the rest of the bland mexican Ive had around here lacks. One of these tacos has more flavor than 400 meals from Haydee's or Don Juan's, let alone Lauriol Plaza or the Austin Grill. They must make a new batch of each meat everyday, the beef barbocoa in tonight's torta was incredible. The bun of the torta was good too it had been grilled with a small amount of cheese in it and did a great job of soaking up all the beefs juices. It also came with lettuce, tomato, & avacado. The tacos come with radish, onions & avacado. There were small cups of red & green sauce with my takeout, and the tables also have pickles on them.
Did I mention it is also dirt cheap, the tacos are $2 or 3 for $5 & the burritos & tortas are $5 each. The beer I had with my takeout last night cost me more than my meal. By the way the new Dogfish "Golden Shower" Imperial Pilsner goes very well with the beef barbocoa or al pastor tacos. They don't sell beer, but they do have 4 kinds of homemade drinks. The tamirindo drink I had tonight was quite tasty, but this is something I don't have alot of experience with so I dont feel too qualified to comment.
The guy running the place is very friendly & fluent in english. After I ordered he asked me where I lived & if I had drove. When I said I had walked from Mount Pleasant he mentioned that I had passed alot of restaurants on my way. My response that "none of them serve Mexican food" got a big smile. His place definitely does.
The meat in the tacos is in my opinion much better than the meat Ive had in Riverdale, I would be interested to see how the people who have posted negatively about La Sirineta ect think this place stacks up. If I could get a mole sauce here I wouldn't feel a need to go back Riverdale. It is worth noting that both El Tapatio & La Sirenita have broader menus (Enchiladas, Mole, Seafood ect). The guy said they may offer some of these things as specials. I also think the tacos here are better than the ones at Oyamel, again the difference is the meat (although Oyamel has better tortillas). I'm neither Latin or from California, but I imagine it is only a matter of time before this place gets a huge reputation in the Latin community and is always packed.
Can you tell I know where I'm having dinner tommorow?

I am about to go back to W. Domku again for dinner. I love the space, the aquavit, the salads, the presentation, the edited winelist, and beers. (Even Polish beer!) Not necessarily heavy, winter food I would have thought when I think Eastern Europe. In any event, what didja think?